Buildings & Grounds Maintenance

Q: How can I get more information about home composting?
A: Composting is nature’s way of recycling your fruit, vegetable, and yard trimmings into rich soil amendment. Composting saves you money by lowering your garbage bills and replacing store-bought soil conditioners, helps garden and house plants by improving the fertility and health of your soil, saves water by helping the soil hold moisture and reducing water runoff, and benefits the environment by recycling valuable organic resources and extending the life of our landfills.

Call the Santa Clara County Home Composting Program's Rotline at 408 918-4640 or check with your city to find out if they have their own home composting education program.

Classes

Learn the basics at a free two-hour fun and interactive class offered by Santa Clara County’s Home Composting Program. The Master Composter Training Classes offers classes on the art and science of basic and worm composting, field trips, and certification for those who want to go to the next level.

Compost Bins

Know how to compost, but you need a bin? The County sells the Earth Machine Backyard Composting Bin for about $40 by appointment only (call for most current price). This bin is easy to use, snaps together, has an enclosed design with a locking lid and require little or no turning.

Learn more about the hows and whys of composting, worm composting, composting in the classrooms, class times, locations, and bins, by visiting Santa Clara County’s website http://www.ReduceWaste.org or call 408-918-4640. Visit http://recycling.stanford.edu/facstaff/HCP.html for more links.

Q: What can and can't I compost?
A: Successful recipes for composting include a mix of organic materials that contribute carbon and nitrogen. Composters should mix 75% “brown” organic materials (high carbon materials such as dead leaves, chopped woody materials, sawdust and dried grass) with 25% “green” organic materials (high-nitrogen materials such as fresh grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, and tea bags). These ingredients, plus water, oxygen, heat, and composter organisms make compost happen.

Do not place any meat, fish, dairy or oily products, diseased plants, sawdust from treated wood, or animal feces in your compost bin. These materials can cause the pile to smell and may attract unwanted insects or pests. Putting diseased plants in the pile may produce diseased compost.

Q: How do I compost?
A: Composting can be as involved or as relaxed as you would like, however, certain steps should be followed in order to ensure that proper conditions will exist for your compost pile. First, chop organic materials into small pieces. The more you chop up your fruit and vegetable scraps and yard waste, the faster the decomposition. Secondly, layer organic material. Green material should be layered with brown material. It is important to cover food waste with brown material so that it won’t start to smell and attract rodents. Thirdly, turn your pile. Turning the compost pile allows the air and heat to spread throughout the pile which speeds up the process. If you don’t turn the pile, the process will take longer. Fourth, maintain moisture. Your pile should be as damp as a wrung out sponge. Finally, use your finished compost to plant flowers or vegetables and enjoy! The time to fully compost materials might vary from six weeks to a year, depending on the pile structure, recipe of materials, pile temperature, outdoor temperature, moisture content, and aeration.

Q: What can you put into a residential compost pile? A. beans B. poultry C. grease D. none of the above
A: D. Also avoid waste from any meat-eating animals, fat, bones, vegetable oils and dairy products.

Q: Why do I need a compost bin?
A: Organic material will naturally decompose anywhere. Composting in a bin, however, keeps composting materials neater and allows the pile to heat up and decompose more quickly.

Q: Can I put fruit and vegetables in with yard clippings?
A: Yes, you can.

Q: What do I do with the yard trimmings that does not fit into the cart?
A: If you have extra yard trimmings material that does not fit into your green 96 gallon cart, call PSSI to schedule a special pick up. Once you have scheduled the extra pick up, you may put the material in an old garbage can or place it on the street if you have a large amount of material. No plastic bags, please!

Q: What should I do with palm fronds?
A: Since palm fronds are difficult to compost, they are not accepted in the yard waste recycling program. Instead, they have to be taken to the landfill. Place palm fronds in your garbage can. If you end up with more than your subscription level, call for an additional can pickup. If you have a large amount of palm fronds, call PSSI for an estimate.

Q: Can I put clean lumber in with yard trimmings?
A: No. Even though it's a wood product, it is not easily composted. The material in the yard trimmings carts is composted into a soil amendment. Lumber and other wood products can be recycled though. If you have a large amount of lumber, you can arrange to have a dumpster or debris box delivered to your house. You will receive a discounted rate if you only place only wood and lumber in the box.

Q: I am cutting down a tree. Can I recycle it?
A: Most of the tree should be recyclable. Leaves, twigs, and small branches should be placed in the yard trimmings cart. Place anything that does not fit into the yard trimmings cart, including tree stumps and large tree limbs on the street and call for a special pickup.

Q: How do I recycle my holiday tree?
A: During the holiday season, PSSI will collect non-flocked holiday trees for recycling on each customer's normally scheduled yard trimmings collection day. Please cut trees taller than 4 feet into sections and remove all tinsel, ornaments, garland, and tree stands. Place the tree at the curb, not in the yard trimmings cart. We do not accepted flocked trees. Please place them next to your garbage can so they can be taken to the landfill.

Q: What is grasscycling?
A: Grasscycling is the natural recycling of grass by leaving the clippings on the lawn when mowing. Grass clippings decompose quickly and release valuable nutrients back into the soil. It will not make your lawn look bad if it is mowed, watered and fertilized properly. In fact, it can actually produce a healthier looking lawn. Many lawnmowers are “mulching mowers” meaning that they cut up the clippings into very fine pieces aiding the decomposition of the grass. These are ideal for grasscycling. If your lawnmower is not a mulching mower, you can buy a conversion kit at the hardware store. Remember: Grasscycling saves time, money and encourages a healthier lawn. Call Santa Clara County’s Home Composting Education Program at 408-299-4147 for more information.

Q: What is vermi-composting?
A: Vermi-composting is the practice of using worms to transform food waste into a nutrient-rich finished product called vermicompost. Red worms are placed in a wood or plastic container and covered with moist shredded newspaper. Fruit, vegetable, and other organic scraps (excluding meat, bones, fatty foods, and dairy products) are placed in between the moist newspaper and the worms. In three to six months, as the worms eat the food and shredded newspaper, they produce a dark, rich humus material called worm castings, which is a high quality soil amendment that can be used in your garden.

Q: What is the Dirt Cake Recipe?
A: Use this recipe to make a special “dirt” cake for your family and friends.

Material Needed
3 quart plastic flower pot
3 large mixing bowls
2 stirring spoons
3 artificial flowers

Ingredients
1 lb. package chocolate, cream-filled cookies
2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1- 5.9 oz package of instant chocolate pudding
3 cups milk
1 - 8 oz. non-dairy whipped topping
1 package candy worms
Yields about 24 one-half cup servings
Double or triple the Dirt Cake recipe as needed.

Directions
1. Crush cookies into bowl number 1.

2. Mix together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar in bowl number 2 (allow ingredients to warm up to room temperature).

3. Make chocolate pudding with milk in bowl number 3 (follow directions on package).

4. Fold whipped cream into pudding bowl number 3.

5. Mix ingredients in bowl number 3 with bowl number 2. Blend well.

6. In a clean, plastic flower pot, layer the creamed ingredients with the crushed cookies. Start with crushed cookies in the bottom of the pot. End with crushed cookies as the top layer.

7. Decorate your cake with candy worms and artificial flowers. Eat immediately or refrigerate.

Other ideas: Use individual small flower pots instead of one big one. Try making the recipe with other kinds of cookies, cake mix, or puddings.

Source: Worms Eat Our Garbage

Q: What are some tips for a greener garden?
A: 1. Create raised flower beds from recycled plastic lumber. Unlike treated lumber, recycled plastic lumber will not decay from contact with water and wet soil and doesn’t have to be stained or treated.

2. Use tiles made from recycled glass to accent a garden patio floor with a splash of color.

3. Start a compost and/or a vermi-compost bin.

4. Use edging material to create and maintain clean lines in your garden beds and walkways. Recycled plastic edging is easily bent to form curves.

5. Combine broken concrete, old bricks, composite lumber scraps, and natural stone to form walls with texture and character around the garden.

Thanks to Joyce Gagnon for the tips.